Dallas Mavericks center Tyson Chandler (6) and power forward Dirk Nowitzki (41) celebrate Jason Kidd's (2) three pointer to clinch the win over Portland Trail Blazers in the second half of Game 1 of the NBA playoffs on April 16, 2011, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

For the third summer in a row, the Mavericks will try to make the “covert operation” approach work for them in free agency.

So far, they are 0-for-2, but there is one major reason they hope it will be different with Carmelo Anthony.

The potential front line of Dirk Nowitzki, Tyson Chandler and Anthony has a chance to be one of the best the league has seen in the short term. And the possibility of another maximum-level free agent next summer (LaMarcus Aldridge comes to mind) could make it even better in the future.

The Mavericks met with Anthony for about three hours Wednesday evening. This came after he’d spent more than four hours with the Houston Rockets earlier in the day.

Just as they did with the Dwight Howard pursuit last summer and the less-than-full-court press they put on Deron Williams in 2012, the Mavericks elected to keep all details of their meeting with Anthony hush-hush.

They met at an undisclosed location and did not advertise any bullet points from the meeting that started around 5 p.m. and went well into the evening.

This, after Chicago and Houston both did whatever they could to draw attention to Anthony’s arrival in the respective cities. In Houston on Wednesday morning, a billboard was unveiled, and the Rockets had a large video screen with Anthony in a Houston uniform waiting for him when he arrived.

We won’t know as much about the Mavericks’ pitch because that’s the way owner Mark Cuban wants it.

Cuban, coach Rick Carlisle, president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson and face of the franchise Dirk Nowitzki all were at the meeting. None commented about it.

But it’s logical to assume the Mavericks framed their sales pitch with Anthony becoming part of an epic front line. It may not be Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish. But it would be as good as any currently in the game with two sure-fire Hall of Fame forwards and a defensive player of the year at center.

That, plus the chance to win championships, would likely get Anthony’s attention. Word already has filtered out of his previous meetings with Chicago and the Rockets that winning a title or more is paramount for the 30-year-old forward.

The Mavericks, like Houston and Chicago, can offer a four-year deal in the neighborhood of $85 million to $95 million. If Anthony returns to New York, the Knicks can offer five years and $130 million. The Mavericks probably can’t get to $95 million but can get close enough to be competitive with Houston and Chicago. Anthony will visit the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday.

Cuban has long said he likes to ensure that his players are taken care of in every way. And that includes the veil of secrecy during free-agent recruiting.

Wednesday was a whirlwind for Anthony. He arrived at the Rockets’ offices before 11 a.m. By 1 p.m., the stretch limo Anthony was utilizing pulled out of the Toyota Center.

But the meeting went on over lunch, and it was about 4 p.m. before Anthony headed toward Dallas.

When he arrived, he was whisked to an undisclosed location. In free agency, all meetings tend to get a thumbs-up from the participants. While nobody was commenting on this one, there also was nothing negative mentioned on social media or anywhere else.

The Mavericks’ sales pitch was straightforward, no doubt. Anthony was told about the merits of Nowitzki, no doubt as well as the fact that next summer, when Chandler’s $14.5 million comes off the books, the Mavericks would have ample room to pursue another marquee free agent such as home-grown product Aldridge.

In essence, Anthony would be secure in the knowledge that the Mavericks would be in the mix throughout the length of his contract, even when Nowitzki becomes less productive.

And, of course, the value of Carlisle was certain to be a key selling point. He and Gregg Popovich are the only coaches to beat LeBron James and the Miami Heat in the playoffs over the last four seasons. And Carlisle was widely applauded for his strategies against the Spurs in the seven-game playoff loss in the first round this season.

In all, the Mavericks were able to spend their time doing what they do best — playing up their positive assets and ignoring any shortcomings.

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